IHB HIS WHY AilD COUS ZRUC JlOiJ 0? FORI TTASHIJSIOJff
/HOM HHjL nas Oi 1 IiS BHECHOII UUIIl 1884.
j^OHJ? WASHIHJWH, MABXLAHD.
A IHB3IS
PH3PA3BD /OH IHIHAIIOJ I1TJJ0 XAU B3M PI
HAEYLA1ID SSIA CHAP TEH.
Uy
A. '.YA1I3H JACOBSO^
JABUABY 15, 1933.
3UIM&H1
Fort Washington is a reservation situated on tne
left bank of tne 'otomac aoout fourteen miles below Jasaing-
ton, near tne mouta of tne Piscataway creek. It was one of
the first military ^osts of tne colonists, anu its estab-
lishment dates bac'-r to 164 j. Jeor a e Washington advised tne
building of tne fort proper in 1794.
During tne second war wita England, on August 27,
1814, tne iritisn sailea up the "^otouac toward the Capitol.
.j'aen tne fleet reacneo Port Washington, without any command
fiOu an external source, tne fore was abandoned and tne mag-
azine blown up by tae garrison. Jot a single saot was fired.
Ihe British took possession of the fort, ana with no otner
obstacles in taeir way, marched Into Alexandria and lashing-
ton. Sue commander of tne fort was court martialed shortly
afterward, anu dissjissed from tne service. Phis was the on-
1^ time the fort was needeu, anu it faileu i & noniniously. .
I?he fort ?roper is an irregular be.3tioned struc-
ture of stone and brick masonry, and has a battery of like
materials.- fhe huge ray walls ^ive tne appearance of a
Japanese caatle.
In 1874 tne .aryland legislature ceued jurisdic-
tion of the property to tne United otates.
^n 1884 tne fort was deserted and overgrown wita
vines, and tne builuin^s in a dilapidated condition. Jo de-
finite plans for tne future were known.
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HISfOHT AHD COUSIRUCHOH "/ ?0R2 lSHI33I0H.
FOB1 rASZIJJJJOU, HABYLABD .
jj'ort ./a Sainton, known as Fort Warburton prior to
1813, is a reservation situated on cue left bank o :' tae Po-
tomac, about; fourteen miles below tae City of '.7asuia & toa,
near the mouth of the Pi sea ta way creek, and contains an area
Of 341.43 acres.
Hue fort can lay claim to bein^ one of the oldest
an & lo-saxoa settlements la tae Western Hemisphere as well as
oae of tae first military )08ts of the early colonists. Its
establisnmen t dates to 1646 Y/uea a garrison was erected at
tae raoutii of tue Piscatsvmy creek in accordance with tae de-
fense net of the Province o± Maryland, pas3ed ia tnat year.
.Thomas ./arson was the first commander of the garrison aad
freemen of Saint leorge settlement constitute- tue military
force.
?rior even to tae coming of tae white man was tae
site of this fort recognized as an important strategic out-
post. Hue inci ians nave used irs advanta fe eous location for
defease our^oses bota ia tne wars amoa 6 sc tnemselves, as well
a3 ia cueir later struggles a^aiast tae advancing waite set-
tiers. Here tue/ maae taeir last stand against tue latter ia
1696 when a force of twenty- five auncired Indians were defeat-
ed by r lesser number of Maryland and Virginia militia under
tue command of Colonel Joan Vifasaia fe toa, grandfather of tae
first president.
On the 12th of iuay, 1794, Henry inox, taen secre-
tary of .7a r under Vita Sainton, directed Joan /ermonnet to as-
sume coar&e over tae military works at Alexandria and Anna-
polis, hie letter contained tae following, sentence: "Sue
president of tne United states, who is well acquainted with
tae river Potomac, conceives that a certain bluff of land on
tne luaryland side, near Jr. Di^es, a point formed by tae
Eastern brancu of tae Potomac, would be a proper situation
for tae fortification to be erected." fhia was tae origin
of Fort F»shington, ana it is a tradition that Jasnin^ton
was impressed witn tne availability of tae place for a mil-
itary sice as ne looked out of nis winuow at Mounc Vernon
toward toe Qapitol Gity. Ehe sum to be ex^endeu for tae
fortification, aowever, was only turee taousand dollars, ex-
clusive of the cannon. rhis low estimate is explained in
some decree by tae fact toat tae parapets of the work were
to be of carta, or ';vnere that could not be obtainea of adhe-
sive quality, tae parapets were to be faced witn strong tim-
ber, and filled witn suca earth as could be nad. Seed of
knot ^rass were to be sown on tne parmets to binu tne earth
and sods to^etaer. Mr. Vermonnet was ^ery distinctly inform-
ed toat his employment aia not confer or involve any military
rank waatever. a*i3 compensation was four dollars ier day.
Ihe property on waich tae new fort was to stand wao
known as far buck as 1742, as .Var burton Lianor* In that year
it was willed by Cnarles jji 0& e3 to nis son I nomas A. Di^es.
fhe tnree acres whieh contained tae bluff proper were our-
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c based from the latter for taree thousand doll^s, on April
16, 1908, although tae site was officially selected ana ne-
gotiations be»un two years earlier. The erection of tee fort
was immediately commenced, but evidently tae old idea of sim-
ple earthwork was not carried out, for on June 6, 1309, Pre-
sident Jefferson transmitted zo uon-ress a report on tae
fortifications of tae Uni ted states in wnich ae referred to
J?ort .Yasnington as "a new incloseu work on tae Potomac be-
tween Alexandria ana Llount Vernon, of stone ana orlck mason-
ry to wnich was attacned a strong battery of like materials' 1 .
Pne latter was saia to be nearly uompleted and ready foi the
reception of cannon and garrison, waicn had been ordered and
naa arrived at tae fort. Tae erection of an oata on tower
on tae eminence overlookin Che fore was well under way. Ey
December of tue same year, nearly ten taousand dollars had
been expended on tae work. Jne octagon tower had been com-
pleted, together wita a brick magasine * nd barracks. In
December, 1811, Congress was informed that tae tower was in-
tended to a e fend c.je fore in tae rear. It contained six
^uns, while tnere "'ere t air teen ^uns in tae fort proper.
But wnat -as tne condition 'of tfi« fore, wnen at
last tne British obtaine... a footaolu in tae unites Dta„es
and were maruuin s uion In uia^ton. On tae £5th of July,
1814, loneral Tinker, wiose military district aad been en-
larged to include tae District of woluinbia and a greater
part of itfirylaad and /ir^inia conti & uous to it, and 'iao at
once ins-^eetea Fort ifa shington, repoj ted that tne fort was
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in several respects incomplete in its prepare tion for defense.
lie submitted a. report to Lieutenant Edwards, taen commanding,
which was not encouraging. It called attention to the neces-
sity of mounr,in heavy artillery in toe block uouse; stating
tuat tne ei fc iiteen oound Columbiads were not mounted anil tflat
there was no tackle in toe fort to mount tnem in position;
tuat the fa -un platforms were so narrow that at tne first dis-
cnar^e of the pieces, tne latter would turn over, and tuat
tae five excellent ei^uteen pounders were mounted on tae wa-
ter battery, which would be useful in time of attack, but
there was not s single iouna of ammunition in tae fort Hot
tnem. dome of the gun carriages, also, were out of order
and quite useless. Colonel Vadsworth, stationed at (Jreen-
lenf's Point, where toe present Washington barracks are si-
tuated, sent two men to repair trie t un carriages, rnc * r2_
fcortsd to .Lieutenant Edwards' criticisms by sayin^ that tne
ammunition for the eighteen pounders " had long sines been
ordered, tinat t oe 6 un platforms vere not too narrow, and
that tne otner ordinance could be sent if tie was directed
to do so". Reports and communications were numerous and
long.
During all tnis period of voluminous letter writ-
ing, tne people of 3t. idary's nnu Charles* counties were im-
portuning tae government fox aid and protection. Ihey could
look out uion tne Cnesaoea'-te and see tne fleet of the British,
wnile at short intervals txieir iea.ee and comfort would be
disturbed by Parties wnich landed ana foraged through tne
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oountry. On the 18th of August, 1814, the observer, who had
been stationed at J oint Lookout, sent word to Fort ffasnington
that she enemy's fleet off that place had been reinforced
by a formidable squadron of ahi^s and vessels of various
sizes. Ilhe next day, General finder, realizing tne c raveness
of the situation, as^eu the Secretary of far wiietner it would
be expedient to have vessels ready to be sunk in the Potomac
rz Fort /as-.in^ton or 3ome otner point, to obstruct the navi-
gation. "Vfould it not be proper," he also asked, "to lave at
Fort Wasaington, to transport troops, all tie boets that can
be propelled by oars, tnat are at the City of Washington un-
der the control of toe Hiavy?, and 170 u Id it not be wise to
have the Jfarine eor^s reenforce the troops already at ,tae
fort?"
But tneae suggestions, if they could ns ;e availed
anything, came too late. rhe land force of the iriti3h gra-
dually closed in upon Washington. Ehe militia of Washington
and J-eor^etown were mustere J in end marched bravely to a
TOint four miles down tne ! .am branch bridge on t.*e road
to upper Marlborough. On trie first onslaught of the enemy
at Bladensburg, tne militia and the regulars broke ranks
and fled ~>reci~itately, never stopping until tney were at
lannallytown, two miles above Georgetown, and the enemy nad
entered tile city.
en tne denser tnu3 realized waa apprehended, tne
few remaining members of the common council of Alexandria
held a aeetin a ana decide*, to; t if ..he Britisn fleet saould
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ever pass jj'ort ..'psnifloton, taey would surrender uoon the best
terms they coulu 5 et. All tueir sole bodied men nad ^one to
tne foit, or were with tae army, and no one was left in tne
city but a Jew wno3e ^re.-eenee waa needed, or w.io aad secur-
ed suostitutea, and old men, women, anci children. "'aen tae
Britisa took possession of Washington, lae.e waa great excite-
ment in the town. IJae President and the members of uis cabi-
net lied and could not be found; and there waa no military
commander 01 officer to advise. Un^er these circumstances,
tae common council sent a delegation with a flag to Admiral
Cockburn to mow wnat treatment could be expected of tae en-
emy suould tney reacn tae town, lie replied tha t private pro-
perty would be reapecteu, and that whatever provisions were
needed would be paid for.
"Utile fcaese things were cioin^ on in Washington, ■
says tae report afterward made by tne council to tae Congres-
sional Investigating Committee, "tae British squadron had
been gradually ascendin 6 tue Potomac, and on the 27th of
August, c.oree days before tue battle of Blaaensbu rg, it
reacned Fort Sashing ton. Upon t^e fort did tae safety of
Alexandria now aeiend. the citizens looked witn great an-
xiety upcn this ooin-c for protection, but to their great
surprise and mortification and witnout t.ie concurrence or
wish of tue municipal autnority of tue town or any members
of ii, tae fort was abandoned, and the magazine blown up by
tae Uniteu States larrison on tue evening of the 27th with-
out firing a single un.
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Captain jordon, who was commanding the British
fleet, u ives tae following account of cue affair;
'Ihe follow if mornino, August 27th, to our great
joy t^e wind becaiae fair, ana we mrde all sail up tne river,
waiea now assumed a more pleasing aspect. It five o'clock
in the a r'teinoon, Jbunt /ernon, tae retreat of the illus-
trious SFashingtoa, openec to our view and snowed us for tne
first time since we entered tne n otcnac, a gentleman's re-
sidence. Higher ui tae river on tae opposite side Fort
Washington appeared to our anxious eyas and to our great
satisfaction assailable.
"A little before sunset tne squadron ancnoied just
out of gunshot, the bomb vessels at once took up tueir po-
sition to cover tae frigates in the projected attack at uay-
li c at next :ao^nin to and oe & an throwing suells. She garrison
to our great surprise, retreated from tne fort; and a snort
time afterwards yort Washington was blown up, wnich left the
Oapitol of America and the populous town of .ilexanuria open
to tae squadron, without tae loss of a man. It was too late
to ascertain whether this catastropne was occassioneu by one
of our shells, or waether it Had oeen blown un by the garri-
son, but cae oninion was in favor of tne latter. Still we
we^e at a loss to account for such an extraordinary step.
"Tne position was good, and its capture could nave
cost us at least fifty men or more, a d it been properly de-
fended; besides an unfavorable wind anu many otner enanees
were in taeir favor, anu we could have only uestroyeu it nad
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we succeeded in tne attempt.
''At daylight the ship moored under the battery and
completed ita destruction. Pne ^una ^ere snike ,. by the en-
emy; we Otherwise mutilated taem and destroyed tne carriages.
"Fort Washington was a most respectable defense;
it mounts two I'ifty-two pounders, two thirty- two pounders,
eight twenty- four pounders; in a raartello tower, two thirty-
two pounders, with two loop-hole 3 for musketry; raid a battery
in tne rear mourn in^ two twelve and six pound field pieces."
rhe relinquishment of tne fort decided Alexandria's
fate. The British fleet was met immediately after it passed
Fort .'a an i n^ton by a delegation of citizens, amon^ them tne
mayor, but were informed by Captain cordon tnat Admiral Cock-
burn would make known his terms wnen ne got opposite tne city,
ioon afterward, tne fleet, consisting of seven vessels, with
a total of one Hundred and twenty-eight fc uns, were ranged in
a semi-circle opposite tne town, ready to boaberd it. Under
tnese circumstances, tne terms of capitulation were easily
arranged.
i ore Jashington at the time it ms blown up con-
tained nineteen uns and a ^arrison of a bout fifty men. Tne
officer command in u was Captain 5am r, Dyson, Me was quickly
callea to account on the 29th of August, thirty-six nours
after ne bad abandoned tne fort. Secretary of Jar Armstrong
3ent an officer to aim for a written or verbal report of tne
causes wnich led aim to vacate tne post committed to nis
charge, tne orders under wnich be acted, and from whom re-
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ceived. Caitain Dyson's reply was as follows;
'' iiie older s received from Brigadier ieneral Winder
through Jajor Uite verbally on tue S4feh instant were, in
ease T was pressed by or neard of any enemy in my rear, to
spike my ^uns and make my escape over the river. rhe enemy
apprcacaed by water on the 27th, and we aad learned on tnat
day through several channels th? it tne enemy aad been reen-
foreed at Benedict two thousand atron a , and tnat they were
on tne marcn to cooperate witn tne fleet in addition to tae
force which left tne city. Under all ue circumstances tne
officers under my command were consulted and it was tnought
best to abandon tne foi t and effect a retreat* Tne force un-
der ay command was not thought equal to tne defense of tne
piece. "
Ine Court JSartial which was convened tnou^at dif-
ferently, an- on ^ae 17tn of tne following November, tney re-
turned a finding to tae effect that Captain Dyson "misbehaved
himself cefoie tne enemy and soamefully abanuoned tne fort
end post which ne tuen ana the-e commanded and wnich it '"as
uis bounden duty to defend." Ine recommendation tn t ne be
dismisses' from tae service o£ tae United states was at once
approved by the Secretary of Jar.
rue Fort fashington, as it appeared in 1884, was
be^un in 1815 upon almost tne same site as tue old work, and
was finisned in 1824, it> total cost up to tue letter date
bein $dd6, 000, It is situated on a aign ridge at tne con-
fluence of tae Piscataway Creek and tae Potomac River, f.bout
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fourteen miles below Washington, anci its picturesque stone
Lla are familiar t ) the i.iousanus who pass it on pleasure
trins down tne river, or pilgrimages to Llcunt Vernon. Be-
hind the fort is a deep ravine, three hundred feet wide at
the top, with sides sloping precipitously about eighty feet,
terminating in a narrow plane about one hundred feet wide.
I!na rid e is composed of clay, sand, and marl, and many
fossils hr:Ve been found in the vicinity of the marl beds,
whica open on one river b*mk. rhe sides of ravins were
formerly heavily timbered but this was out away during the
Civil far, when the fort was garrisoned by forty marines
solely for the protection of nubile property, and n±e covered
with a vigorous growth of youn^ trees, ->rin6ipally cresnut
and locust. i!ne ctiannel, lowever, is not more than five
hundred feet, and is entirely on the fort or Maryland side
of tne river. She Maryland shore is gradual slo^in c , 3andy
and bard, the Virginia shore being muddy and flat. Bota
sides aie covered in summer by the ordinary rivei gn 38,
Lch is exposed at low tide, the rise and fall of whica is
between five and 3ix feet.
rue fort proper is an irregular bestioned struc-
ture, with a water battery in front. It has high walls of
stone and brie"*, and its exterior view is said to resemble
in ma ay particulars the old feuual castles in Ja^n. It
commands the rivei fir a point considerably below Blount fer-
aon, wnile looking toward tue city from Festern -i^ra ^et,
the Quae of the Capitol, the e*ashin 6 ton Monument, and otner
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lpnd marks are plainly seen. It; was garrisoned during tne
war, although, fortunately, its services T '?re never needeo.
rna Alexandria iazette published the following article on
January 7, 1861:
By lelegraph co the 'jazette.
Washington, D.G., Jan. 6, 1861.
Extrac t:
" 2.ie cou.se of the President in garrisoning Fort
Washington is severely condemned, pnd toe Abolitionists who
have brought all this trouble upon us will -isve a terrible
crime to answer for.''
Local Items.
"joit Sasnington - Within a few years oast tnis
work has been put in a condition of complete uefense against
attack by land as well as by water.
"It is a bastionefl work, unaccessible to escslade
in tae rear, end Protected from assault in the front by a
ditch whicn is cc-iiaanued in all its parts by flank vines of
^rape and eannister. the greater part, if not all of its
armament is understood to be at the work, and tne magazine
i3 also understood to be amply su • -lied with all the munitions
necessary for its greatest efficiency- '*
rue fort ".'as always moxe or less unhealthy, and in
August, 1870, every man, woman, and child on the re-servation
-.fas attacked with intermittent ox remittent fever. Phe fort
i evacuated in September, 1872 , In December, 1878, leneral
Ayres wa3 placed in charge, but on the 31st jf ^b.j, 1384, the
-IE-
fort v/83 turned over to toe Engineer Department for modifi-
cation -m^i repair, /ram 1872 to 1084 its c arrison consist-
ed of one ordinance sergeant. On At 11 11, 1874, an act of
the Maryland legislature was approved, ceding jurisdiction
over t&e property to tae United States, tae state ress±rvin fc
the right to serve criminal ana civil processes within the
limits ol" tae reservation. She provisions are as follows:
"Sect. 1. ^e i i. enacted, etc.
"That tne jur isdic tion and control over the resi-
due of the lands o"?ned b t v the United States, and constitut-
ing tie site of Fort Washington, in tne county of Prince
jieDr^e, and tne jurisdiction and c nirol over tne lands
hereinafter described, or any portion thereof, in said coun-
ty, that may be nereafter conveyed by dead, duly executed,
acknowledged and recorded to t.*e United States, and t is water,
water rignts, and ell otnes riguts appertaining fenereto, be
and the same is hereby ceded and vesced in tae United states
of America for military and naval purposes; tne said cession,
H9 t ; said land that may hereafter be conveyed, to cake ef-
fect whenever tae same snail be so conveyed; beginning for
the said land to be hereafter conveyed. ******** jfa Q Sfir n Q
corner isin = tne two parcels of fe round, aarta from tae 7arbur-
ton -Jano-: , and mentioned and conveyed in • deed from Jonn
Jonnson a ad xaomas a. Alexander, trustees, to ".Yilliam lerley;
recorded under tae land records of Prince leorge's oounty,
liber J.B.B., Ho. 4, folio 806, etc:, provi ^e d alway s, tuat
this cession and juj. isd action aie granted uion tne express
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condition that t le state shall retain a concurrent jurisdic-
tion witn tne Uni tec States in and on tue said ceded lands
and territory so far as that all civil and sue a criminal
process as may issue under the authority of tnis State, a & ain-
st any person or persons with crimes committed without said
lanus and ceued territory, may be executed therein, in tne
same "way ! .;nd manner as though tnis cession and consent nad
never been mace or granted, except so far as sue a process,
the real ant- personal property of tae United states witain
tne said ceded territory.
"Be it enacted tnat tae said len^s over ra.ica tne
jurisdiction is granted bj tnis act, together witn all ner-
sonal uoperty wnicn may thereafter be witnin tne bounds
thereof, belon^in^ to tae United states, s.jall be exonerated
end disc narked from nil taxes and assessments w.^ica nay be
at any time imposed by the autaority of tnis State, wnen and
so lon as tae said lands* or portion t^e-eof, respectively,
are ana shall remain tne iro-ierty of tne United States, and
be usee for tae our->ose aforesaid."
£ne officer in charge of the fort in 1384 was Or-
dinance Sergeant H. S, Joyce. Eis life at tae fort a ver^
quiet one, oonsiuei in to tn i oe iad soent twenty-eignt years in
tae army, sixteen of wnicn "'ere on the lexas frontier, at
i'oris ^eclntosn anu Ringgold, fighting Indiana. He was de-
tailed to tae fort in December, 1883.
If Fort Washington has nevei known a battle of pow-
der and shot, it Has been tae subject of lengthy conflict in
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Which peas and paper forme a the ammunition. She reservation
on wnicu it is situated haa a history of litigation extend-
ing over ten years. On the 31st of August, 1815, some nine
acres were purcnased from I. A. ji 00 e3 and ffilliam J). Digges
for 58,461 for tne purooae of enlar^in^, tne reservation upon
which the new fort was to be built, Anotaex strong consid-
eration urged for the purcnase was tu i tne small area pre-
viously occupied oad enabled an eazei '"orising >e±son to r^n
a tavern and grog-snop immediately un.er tne walls of tne
fort, "defeating the most zealous efforts of tne officers to
ire serve discipline among tne men. " In surveying tue lanu
conveyed to tne United states, nowever, a oiece was left to
tne proprietor, with singular improvidence, between the fort
and tne river, and in erecting tne fort, with still gre ler
improvidence, a numcex ol' briefc buildings were ereetea on
this land. Part of tne fortification was irojeeted, ana nad
ocen. partially erected on tae property, when tne discovery
was made tnat it did not belong co the government, anu tne
work suddenly stopped.
A lon^ litigation between tne United states and
-Jioo^ 3 ensued. i'ue property in question measured everal
acres, anu Cue first arbitrators appraised tne value at
$£9,600. Ibis was afterward objected to by Secretary of Far
Barbour as excessive and it oein 6 found tnat ^i^-,es owed the
$ vernment $13,000 with $7,000 interest additional, oo a
judgement a^ainot him, it was proposed to him that his ">ro-
lervy be taken as payment of tne debt. He objected but Con-
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& resa would acceu no other 8rrRH c e...ent, not even though his
council, Hoses i'abbs, in a memorial to that body saia that
"ever the slumbering 3piiit of justiee . area Lues uoon tae
claims of Dudley Digges." Afterward Dirges died, and bis
widow, Ho rati, in ISay, 1833, finally accented tae ^overnme tits
proposition and toe lon^ dispute was ended.
In 1084, A Wasiin ton newspaper Man u escribed the
for i a s follows:
'An air of desertion uan e 3 over fort /• shlngton to-
day. Its buildings, saiu to bave been imnorted from England,
still stand in a remarkable state of preservation, but they
are old and teoantless. Fhe Picturesque ^ace, wita its draw-
bridge over the moat, is overgrown wi tb vines, sno>-*? creep
through the tsll rank j, ana lizards of brilliant nues
are tae only sentinels who mount ^uard upon the wells. Can-
nons of patterns lon_ since obsolete, lie imbedded in the
earth and ^rass, or frown, wi tn unconcious impotence from
t is casemate windows. ?rom little crevices between piled up
cannon bolls tie lon^ stalks of -olden rod find their upward
way. Ihe brick passage ways pre overgrown wita grass and
weeds, and scarlet trumpet flowers and otaer cree'in^ vines
are fast covering the walls.
w There Sxe no incidents connected wita tae fort Co
oiJt it tragic interest. It never fired a snot in its own
defense. At best tne sergeant who accompanies you in tne
round of tae examination can only point out the old ^uard
rooms, one of tae floors still indented with a brick torn
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up from the flooi by a drunken 'in;- excited -orisoner. Or if
you notice that the steps lea.>in to tae ilatform over the
nridge ^n te aie niched, t.ie sergeant tells you that some-
time be f -ire he eame in cnar a e, a sarty of uen landed from a
boat, entered the fort from tae rear, and c*rrle< :; off tae
brass gun whica was >nce used t fire the morning and evening-
salutes, e steps leading flown to casemates are also chip-
ped, bu t tnis was done by children on picnic parties rolling
cannon calls from the top to the bottom. Hot even the offi-
cers w no command the fort ■■t various times bi d lives of more
tipn ordinary inter. at.
'. wooden sundial upon two sides of a chimney is a
relic of ancient times in tae fort, and is remarkable in be-
ing upri^ it, the majority of sundials being horizontal.
'Ammunition as old as tne fcrt and utterly useless
ia stored in t. zine. ^very noo~k Find corner In tne fort
is a quaint picture in itself, but peroapfl one of the pret-
tiest subjects of an artist' - pencil is a at semate rescued
by an underground passage* lere four bmss howitzers point
outward with apparent fierceness, but a graceful network of
a reen vines, tae leaves delicately transparent in tae sun-
lit it, almost obstruct tne view through the portholes. It
is as pretty i s a poem."
lime ass made many ehan&es in Fort Washington. On
February 2, 1825, lent xal Hacomb, Chief of Engineers, made
a ieoort in wuicn ne said:
"Tne position of Fort Washington is exceedingly
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otron^, sad tne work i3 "built of tie mo;i t durable materials
and executed In the best manner. Its batteries command com-
pletely the channel of tne Biver ?otomsc tnJ cover the Dis-
trict or Columbia, including tie National Capitol, from at-
tack by water. S"ort Washington, on the land sideis very
strong, being def ended by high walls pnd a deep ravine. It
is ao well situated taat it cannot be tnVen unlesi invested
and regularly besieged, and even then it may be considered
competent to hold out until properly relieved by trie forces
of cae country. It may be proper to remark tiiat t;e selec-
tion of tne site was made in 1606 before cue council of the
Boa x d of Bng ine era . "
It was believe', in 1684, that if the selection for
the si^e was taen o^en, a oositi^n further down tne river,
about Geuar Point, "?ould be chosen, not because tne position
was itself stronger on tne land side, or that it more com-
pletely commanded the river, but simily because it commanded
to t^e enefflj a ioint of attack at a greater di stance from tne
Capitol, find even as to this soint, J'ort Washington bein^ re-
tained, and completely commanding the liiver, would enable the
government, o^ temporary works at tne lower point, erected
at a small cost, to prevent an enemy from passin & . that posi-
tion, as he would nave no adequate inuucement to run t
slightest nazard when knowin^ that the batteries of Fort "Yaso-
in^ton would put it out of his power to do any injury.
On tne 1st of August, 1684, Llajor Peter C. Hains,
after inspeetioa of the place, made a report to the Gaief of
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^n ineers in wnioh tie saiu :
"iiie masonry of tlie olu works is still in good coa-
dition, but as t^e fort was designed moj.e than one-half a
century a.,o, it is not adapted to receive guns of mooern
size, or to defensive purposes against aucn & uns. *****
At tne present time the defences rno-n as Jfort rashington
consist practically of four fifteen foot gun platforms, with-
out a parapet in front of them nnd without magazines. Ine
twenty- four -oound barbette b uns in fcne old fort are prac
cally worthless, as they coulu do no harm, fnis fori;, to-
gether with Jort ?oott, a work of leas stren^tn, if that be
possible, constituted toe defenses of the capitol of s ^reat
nation. Hue buildings unoccuoieu by troops, are generally
in a uilapidated condition, out no repairs are recommended
as it is of mo- e importance to mount a few guns and to
finish une magazines ana paranets.
"It is thus probable tnat tue fort, a 3 it is at
esent constructed, will soon ce r tning of tne oast, of
course tne site 111 no c be abandoned, but t^e c^rse *er of
tie fortification will be almost entirely enanged. en tne
work of remodeling will begin is a ma tier dependent upon
Congressional appropriation. Already, however, proposals
have been invited for tne removal to governor's Island, iiew
lork, of twenty-si^ tnousand pounds 0? old orainance in tne
fort. fhe greater portion of this material will be sold as
old iron a: half a cent a oound, altnougn it will cost at
least t'iree-qua cers of a cent a ^ound to transport it. 7aen
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it nas been removed t^e fort will be ready for remodeling.
Ihe battery, previously mentioned, w ien was be fa un upon nlans
approved in 1870 and upon wnicu "'c:k waa sjs^ended for lee*
oT funds, will be fini3ued; as it is modern in construe tin.
Ins ; otO:.iac way be oenrived of a "picturesque spot, b-it tnere
will be more safety in tide of war."
WARBURTQN MANOR"
PATENTED IE6I
HOME OF THE DIGGES FAMILY
'DESCENDANTS Or EDWARD DIGGES '
GOVERNOR Or VIRGINIA. 1652-16G81
THE MOST INTIMATE FRIEND5 OF
GEORGE and MARTHA WASHINGTON,
IN PHIhCE GEORGE'S COUNTY.
WHERE THEY VISITED MANY TIMES
WASHINGTON
SPENT HIS FORTY-THIRD BIRTHDAY HERE.
NOW SITE OF FORT WASHINGTON I
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. "United States Reservations, national Cemetaries and
Military Parka" - 1916.
2. "Army agister of tixe United 6t*tea - 1779 -1879"
T. H. S. Hammer sly.
3. Alexandria iazette - January 7, 1861.
4. faanington ?o. ; c - August 17, 1884.
5. ifar 3e pertinent Records.